How many of us grew up with a rubber ducky in our bathtubs to keep us company? Most of the time, we hold imaginary conversations and scenarios with the ever reliable rubber ducky being our partner in crime. Time has passed and kids these days couldn’t give two quacks about playing while having a bath as their minds are thinking about the video game which is currently paused in the living room. The Floating Duck Radio is an interesting device that shows how modern electronics is capable of injecting a much needed lifeline to traditional toys.

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Here’s the next big thing in handheld magnification – the Pocket Viewer from First Street, purveyor of all things in life that make it much more enjoyable. It is a given fact that the older people get, the more maladies they are saddled with. Joints start to creak and ache, their brain starts to wind down (where did I put my keys again?), they seem to suffer from a gradual loss of hearing, and for some others, their eyes start to fail them. This is evident by the number of books that come in large print to cater for the older crowd, while these very same people use the largest font size in their Web browser running on an 800 x 600 resolution.

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If you are buying a very exclusive car like a Ferrari, why not complete the purchase with a high-end audio system to stay right aside the car on your garage? The product is called ART .ENGINE and was created by David Weiner. Notice that it is not being produced directly by Ferrari, but it was approved and licensed in partnership with the Italian company.

We are talking about a stand-alone audio system that features 16 high-potency speakers. The design was obviously inspired on the famous sports car, and both the red and the gray versions feature the Ferrari logo on the bottom. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a great new table by Takafumi Nemoto along the lines of the earlier multipot.

The really cool thing about this concept is that you can plug in all your electronic devices and then have a place where they look nice as well.

The issue is very important and shocking that more work hasn’t been done on this (I’ve got something brewing in this area myself, look for it before too long!)

By utilizing a better looking location for plugging mobiles, pda’s, ipods, and other electronics, our desks return to looking like,, well desks.

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Can this be just another MP3 player with a Pedometer? Probably yes, but it is still worth talking about it because offering CG readers the chance to read about different products that have the same end is just one of the things I like to do, it is like offering more options when you are interested to buy a gadget but can’t decide which one to go for.

So, lets start from the beginning (pretty strange sentence but most people don’t actually do it) – a Pedometer is a little device used by people that exercise and want to have some kind of information related to the current exercise they are doing, usually the pedometer allows the user to count steps, set a distance, record movements, etc.
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Do you suspect that your iPod has a hardware problem? The iPod’s built-in diagnostic mode is a quick and easy way to determine if you have a “bad” iPod.

How to Turn on iPod Diagnostic Mode

The following procedure will activate the iPod Diagnostic Mode with the following iPods (Photo, Nano, Video, and Mini).

• Turn off the “hold switch”
• Press and hold “Menu” and “Select” buttons simultaneously for 10 seconds to reset the iPod.
• The Apple logo will appear and you should feel the hard drive spinning up. Press and hold both the “Back” and “Select” buttons at the same time.
• You will hear an audible chirp sound and the logo should appear backwards. Let go of the “Back” and “Select” buttons. You are now in Diagnostic Mode.

Once your iPod is in Diagnostic Mode, you will be able to run a series of tests. For more info on the types of tests and what they exactly do, check out this MethodShop.com iPod Diagnostic Mode Tutorial.

digg story | methodshop

Has this happened to you before? You like an artist and buy a few tracks from their album on iTunes. Then you realize that you really like the artist and want to buy the rest of the album. But if you buy each remaining song on the album separately, it costs more than if you just buy the entire album all at once. And many times, several tracks on the disc as well as the PDF booklet are only available if you purchase the entire album at once (iTunes calls them Album Only offerings).

I’ve run into this dilemma a few times before. Sometimes I’ll want to buy the entire album but won’t just because I don’t want to waste the money.

Apparently I’m not alone when it comes to this problem. If recent reports are true, Apple is supposedly going to credit iTunes users who purchase individual tracks before buying the entire album. For example, let’s say you bought two tracks from the new live Foo Fighters album for $0.99 each and the album is priced at $9.99. If you decided to buy the album later, Apple would charge you something like $8.01 instead and credit you for the tracks you already own.

Why would Apple do this? Why not? Something as simple as this might be the deciding factor between you just buying 1 or 2 songs or the entire album on iTunes. And if you decide to buy the entire album, then everybody wins. You save some money and get the music you want. The record companies sell more albums (something they are struggling to do because everyone just buys singles now). And Apple makes a bigger commission.

It’s a great idea. I’m surprised Apple hasn’t done this in the iTunes Music Store since day one.

digg story | methodshop.com

Dogs can be the best of pals with us, staying by our side even though every single one of our two-legged friends has deserted us during times of adversity. Unfortunately, there are always two sides to a coin and your precious, loyal mutt can be a pain in the butt at times as you have to walk around scooping up his poop as well as scratch your head in bewilderment as you wonder why he can’t get some sleep during the wee hours in the night/early morning, howling and barking his head off for no apparent reason. On the other hand, there are some of us who are neighbors with the above-mentioned mutts, and it drives us nuts whenever we try to get some sleep with a vocal canine that cannot stop barking just next door. The K9 Kalmer claims to provide a solution to all your woes at an extremely affordable price.

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